Covenants
by Shiniki Okuzawa
Summary: Kaito delves into the personal life of his arch rival, Edogawa Conan. Hilarity ensues, but they both find that they share a common problem.
1. Breaking and Entering

A/N: I never understand why people put disclaimers here, its obvious that its a fanfiction but since I have used this excuse before, everyone else is doing it!

I do not own Detective Conan, it is property of Gosho Aoyama. As is all characters present from the Magic Kaito universe. Any other trademarks or properties present are all property of their respective owners.

However, like a certain Phantom Thief, I may return what I steal. And there is no harm done as long as you enjoy the story, and nobody else is hurt right?

That reminds me, no characters were harmed in the making of this video. Except for of course Kaito, it is after all in Aoko's contract to beat him senselessly with a mop for flipping her skirt. Also, all soccer balls used are recyclable and eco-friendly ensuring that this fanfiction just slightly improves fictional global warming!

* * *

_Without breaking the silence, he silently appeared before me... As if he could see right through me, with a fearless smile upon his face. Slowly he stepped forward, a mantle and a silk hat disguising his features along with a clover pattern monocle hung over his right eye. He seemed young, perhaps he was thirty? Maybe twenty... No, he was younger than that..._

_ "Hey Boy... What're you doing in a place like this?" he had asked._

_ "Fireworks!" _

The night had been what felt like a millennium in the past, but every minute detail presented itself when his mind called them to attention. The silken top-hat with a piece of cloth tied around the top that presented evidence of it being tied solely with the left hand. The fair features of his face with the monocle resting over his right eye and descending towards his ear. The slightly greasy bangs that danged over his nose... He could go on, he could recall where shadows fell or state the inches the passed with each of his steps.

Such things were natural to him after years of practice and habit. He could enter a room and he _knew_ how many chairs were present. How many electrical sockets there were, or where they were located. He could tell if the person next to him had ordered crawdad or shrimp from the nearby restaurant that he gathered was approximately three hundred meters away. Yet his uncannied and nearly unmatched skills of observation had told him little from this being shrouded not in the mystery of darkness, but cloaked white in plain sight. Worst of all, from the safety of his infinite regalia of disguises the thief had eavesdropped upon what should have been a private conversation and now knew a unfathomable multitude more about the diminutive detective than said mystery lover knew about him. It annoyed him to an extent, he had retreated back to the belief of equivalent exchange, one life-changing secret for another, sadly nothing was given in return. Suitable, considering his adversary was a thief, though ironic due to the fact that the items stolen had been returned in pristine shape every-time. But, his worries, although natural, were just phantasms in the long run. The thief and him had formed a mutual respect, although their '_relationship'_ had put the spot light upon the gradeschooler in much more quantity than he would have liked, it didn't bother him. He lived for the trill of the hunt, piecing together the clues and formulating order from chaos. Though he would never truly admit it, he had a fairly large ego. It did not prove a hindrance to him, nor did it get in the way or endanger his life in most cases. Above all, he relished in the moment when complex and seemingly impossible enigmas were unraveled in mere moments. Thrill, shock, and suspense were the main motivation for what he did.

Edogawa Conan yawned sleepily, the thoughts had passed through his mind in mere instants. A single electrical impulse taking mere fractions of a second carried out with it nearly hundreds of scenario's, rejected ideas and odd and random musings whilst his brain continued working like a well oiled machine. He found these quiet moments in the night to be calming, it cleared his mind and slowly lulled him to sleep. On several occasions his subconscious had continued on with his deduction spree. He went to bed with nothing and awoke with a bountiful treasure. Although this was only when a deafening sound did not fill his ears. He eyed the large bulk of the figure next to him, Kogorou Mouri slept soundly and thanks to one of Hakase's inane but useful inventions was sleeping without snoring for once. He noticed though that the figure began to blur, he felt a gentle lift on his eyes and his joints relax. His entire frame seemed to be gently carried away as he yielded to his drowsiness and fell asleep.

Although, the residents of the Mouri Tantei Agency were not alone this evening. Their guest was not a stranger to them, he had been there before and even did their laundry on one occasion. Though the color of what was called his trademark uniform clashed with the obsidian miasma of darkness, he was all but invisible when standing behind the brightness of the moon. The magician under the moonlight was his nickname to some, others called him by a less poetic but still mysterious name. Although, he was found of the more immature and relaxed alias that his father had created, Kaitou Kid. Rather than his monocle tonight, he had a pair of large eyeglasses underneath his signature top-hat. They were not his, he was merely borrowing them, after all, its owner would hardly know it was missing. It was the Shrunken Detective's own pair of glasses, of course they were a spare that was kept at Hiroshi Agasa's house, he had to admire their utility. From the rooftop across the street, the magnification of the glasses allowed him to see the slightest speck of dust dozens of meters away. After tinkering with the object, he found that it had a built in tracking system that seemed to hone in on something that the boy kept on his person at all times. It intrigued him that the detective had not considered using this one of the many times they met. Perhaps it was a matter of honor to him? It did not seem in character to the boy to hold the game they played as simply a matter of winning at all costs. Cut your losses there and let the gods decide whom gets the glory. Perhaps that was what made it exciting to both him and his rival, he would hide and eventually be found, and then he would hide again. It was all a gigantic and slightly disfigured match of hide and seek.

He had no time for reminiscence of events that were omitted to time however, he was here for a reason. To his right he could see the bright orange figure of Touto Tower looming out from the vast metropolis. Its beauty was blemished by the innumerable scaffolds and construction parties that were even working now at this late hour to restore it. He remembered hearing it on the news, it was apparently '_covered up'_ that a delusional officer in the Air Force had commandeered the gunship and for some attempt, fired blindly and randomly at the tower in a fit of rage. He never trusted what he read however, due in part by the aimless speculation he read in the newspapers regarding his real identity. He was amused however at the assertion that he was really Lupin the Third, clean and shaven, who gave up attempting to steal the crown of Vespania and now set his sights upon other priceless artifacts. Though he would return each one as they still paled in comparison to the crown. He had of course stolen the crown himself once, holding its keen luster up to the moonlight. There was no need for a notice though, the Royal Family did not need to be endangered by the mysterious organization that had murdered his father.

Through his poker face, a slight glint of sorrow peaked its way through, only for an instant however. He was concerned about the safety and well being of his audience, even when he did any tricks he never put himself in any more danger than it was announcing to the men in black that he was there. When his own investigation had vaguely linked the organization that killed his father towards the attack on Touto tower, he had put both eyes on the case. He was not much of a detective as perhaps Hakuba-kun or that Kansai accented weirdo from Osaka. But he knew people, who knew people, who in turn knew people. He was already brilliant himself, and the hours of free time he had was spent pursuing his investigation was like something out of a bad mystery novel. Nonetheless, his efforts usually paid off, he wasn't religious but if there was such thing as a Goddess of Luck, she smiled upon him constantly. So far he had this, the sleeping toddler across the street had somehow also attracted the personal ire of the organization. He was pursuing somebody acquainted with them in some way, and while confronting the suspect, the organization had shot the acquaintance whether purposely or on accident. He could obviously confirm that much considering that a high caliber bullet had pierced right through the mans heart and the chibi-tantei was not one for murder. Likely, they must have realized that the person was not alone on the roof and futilely attempted to erase all witnesses. Perhaps the Goddess of Luck smiled upon the gradeschooler as well, but what he had learned had haunted him for days. He feared for the child's life, he could not allow the boy to simply be snuffed out when he himself was in a position to protect him. This was the third night he had done this, mid-afternoon naps had made up for the lack of sleep and his continued investigation was going at a fairly decent pace by his standards. Where he himself was not able to follow them, his infinite number of doves could easily collect intelligence. So far, nothing noteworthy had happened although from the sheer number of crimes he witnessed around the small boy, he was beginning to think that the kid was a jinx. Kaitou Kid folded the glasses, putting them inside one of his jacket pockets. He turned around and with a flutter of his cape, disappeared into seemingly nothing.

* * *

"Conan-kun... Conan-kun... ... Conan-kun!"

The voice startled Conan, though normally self-composed and relaxed, nobody was ever themselves in the morning. He awoke with a jolt as he quickly tried to assess what was happening and what he needed to do, "Ran-neechan?" he moaned.

"Good morning. If you don't get up, your going to be rushed getting ready for school."

The shrunken detective did a quick check of his person, so far his glasses were still on. That was good, his scanty disguise was still in place. His bowtie was tied neatly with his white shirt, folded with the same creases as when he had went to sleep. He rubbed his eyes then glanced at his wristwatch.

_ '7:10 already... Lets see, the smell coming from the kitchen would be... eggs?'_

In mere minutes he had donned his trademark regalia, slightly faded shorts along with his navy blue primary school uniform. Complete with his bowtie, underlying white collared shirt, and suspenders. It was another _normal_ day for him, if his current situation even allowed every moment under the alias of Edogawa Conan to be considered _normal_. He awoke, prepared himself for the day, ate the delicious breakfast that Ran had made while Kogorou lazily glanced at the morning news on television. Soon each of them departed towards their separate appointments, leaving the agency, empty.

Kaito made his move, he had waited at the top of the stairs near the roof access for the space of about an hour. He did a quick salute towards the heavens as the famous sleeping detective finally stumbled out of the house. The lock clicked open effortlessly at his touch, he pocketed the makeshift lock-pick and entered. He was surprised at how neat the agency was considering what he had commonly seen from his vantage point across the street. Opposite of the entryway was the work desk of the head of the household, midway between him and that was a meeting area. This was not what he was looking for, it must have been the other room. Repeating the similar motion used earlier, he entered the living quarters upstairs. Now there was what he was looking for, the personal effects of the three residents. So much to do, so little time, who to start with first? The question was rhetorical however, his own wit and humor had already answered it. Judging by the decor, the door at the far end of the room was Ran's. He proceeded to the handle but found it unlocked, gliding into the room and summing up its contents.

_'Not much here really... at-least, it looks like Aoko's... Yep, even has pictures of her and Kudou on a dresser. Oi, this is almost an exact replica of Aoko's room except with different people... That would put a sealed chest over... there!'_

Kaito turned to his right, his eyes darting towards the same direction, scrutinizing every detail for his prize... Which was nowhere to be found.

_'Okay so maybe not... Wait, there is an indention there in that corner, perhaps...'_

Kaito walked towards the corner that had previously disappointed him. _'Bingo, there was a chest here... judging by the drag marks its, under the bed?'_

He knelt down and lifted up the bed sheet, sure enough there was a semi-large wooden chest with a padlock. He fumed with it for some time until the lock gave way, spilling out the teenagers most secretive treasures into his hands. _'This is mostly junk, some perfume... are those panties- No wait, naughty thoughts, you have a mission Kaito. Thinking is the enemy, find information... find information...Bingo! This looks like a diary of sorts...'_

Kaito lifted up a green bound book, perhaps had it not been locked he would have dismissed it for a regular novel that was perhaps sentimental. Her mistake, his gain, who cares? He tore through the look and began looking over the book carefully, making sure to not accidentally bend a page or leave an indentation that would betray the fact that he was here. He stopped on the third page, this was written like Hakuba's case file on... well himself. There were pictures, questions under the pictures and lists of facts along with what seemed to be a list of, was it evidence? He buried his face deeper into the book, page after page he read along until he finished the last entry.

_'I wonder if Aoko ever had such deep suspicions of this girl... Lets see, h__e acts the same as Shinichi... Looks like him in grade school. Knows a wide variety of facts and occasionally mumbles things that any person, however intelligent, would not know unless they knew certain people personally. Parents are definitely covering for him, it would also appear that Hakase is in the scheme. Oh look, she even figured out I was an impostor! Bugga... I'll make sure to leave out that slight detail next time...'_

He closed the book, returned it to its resting place along with the wooden chest under the bed. This was frankly hilarious to him, from what he read he would have burst out laughing if an otherwise normal, bright, teenage girl began to hound a child stating that he was actually somebody else nearly a decade older in-front of him. Plus, he just found a way to better improve his disguises, although he prayed that what he did would never offend the childhood best friend of Kudou. The diligence she took in collecting every article of evidence and even marking them was staggering. If there was one person in the world who might have been able to find out who he really was, it would be her, driven by rage.

Kaito left the room and began to search the rest of the house, he soon located the joint living quarters of Edogawa and Mouri and did what he did best. Tear the place apart in a whirlwind of uncontrolled joy, then slowly put everything back together again with duct tape. The older detective did not have much interesting, although the hidden shrine to Yoko Okino was creepy and borderline stalker at best. But what intrigued Kaito the most was the sparsity of items that the younger detective kept. There were several child sized pieces of clothing in the closet along with a pair of slippers and an extra pair of sneakers. Yet besides his clothing and various gadgets he had left behind, Kaito was unable to find anything else.

_'I wont give up this easily... There -HAS- to be something here! My little princess isn't going to- wait that's it...'_

Kaito walked over to the two futons laid side by side and lifted them up. Under the farthest one was also a sealed bound book, however this once looked peculiar. He grabbed the book and noticed a warning on the lock.

_Woe to all who pry here, for the prize you seek may not be found. Attempt to enter, unauthorized, and like this book, you too, will be bound._

_ 'Eerie, creepy, but my heist notes are better written and don't sound like a nursery rhyme... So lets see here, the lock appears to be digital? That's new, likely another invention of Hiroshi Agasa's. What is with this canister on the side of the book?'_

After minutes of careful examination, he determined that the book was rigged to disintegrate, blow up, cauterize itself, or somehow erase all evidence of its existence if forced open. There was four number slots with a dial on top of each for input, was this a code or merely a randomized password? What would Hakuba do?

_'Kaito. Breathe. You did not just ask yourself to think like that __bloody__ English idiot... What would Kudou do? Oi, that's it...'_

Kaito began to try to drown himself in Kudou's personality. His dad was a semi-famous mystery writer, his mother an actress. He grew up with his childhood friend Ran Mouri for years, he has a deep sensation for mysteries and loves the with near blind zealotry. He was shrunken somehow... Deeper and deeper Kaito delved until he was confident that he was capable of thinking like Kudou.

_'Four number slots. A code, definitely, all evidence points to it. The suspect has a deep love of mysteries thus the code may also be a pun. Newspapers have hailed him as the "Heisei Holmes" and choice of alias puts author of said famous detective as a first name. Shiyaroku Homusu... Aruta Konan Doiyaru... That's it! Shiyaroku! Four, eight, six, nine.'_

Kaito now saw why Shinichi loved mysteries so, he could feel some type of rush as he found the answer. He had not tried it in the lock yet, but he seemed confident in himself that he was correct. The feeling was intoxicating, he loved it almost as much as magic; almost, but not quite. He turned the dials to the corresponding numbers and they appeared on screen. He heard the satisfying click as the lock reeled backwards leaving the book unprotected. He began reading starting from the first page, it was about a trip to Tropical Land... Who would go through all this trouble for just a diary of memories? Kaito skipped the next few sentences, it had described in detail, the grotesque scene of a roller-coaster murder, far too vividly for his liking. He continued reading until he came to the climax in Kudou's life, the great shrink. So two men known as _Gin_ and _Vodka_ did this? That was interesting, if this was indeed the same organization as the one that killed his father, Kuroba Touchi, then he was facing a legion of committed alcoholics. He stifled his laugh however as he continued reading, this was another case file. It was a list of everything that the young detective knew about the mysterious people who poisoned him, their code names, real names if he had ever managed them out. One thing that saddened Kaito was that every operative whose name was listed had been marked as deceased, all except for one, who was in fact the amber-haired beauty staying at Agasa's. So she was a member of the organization for a time? It would be bold, maybe a bit dangerous, but he added her to the list of personal secrets to pry into. He stopped however, this next page was not on the mysterious organization but was something... different. Kaito slowly read the words written on the page, it was an emotional outburst from the small boy. It was everything he had felt for nearly two years, all of the things bottled up inside him seemed to pour out and overwhelm the small space available on the page. So great and marvelous were the things written, that Kaito himself was barely able to comprehend what he read. It touched his soul and he was drowning now in compassion for his rival's unfortunate situation, he wanted to cry. It was sorrowful to him, the detective had watched _her_ cry, again and again. Crying for a man so close to her, yet universes apart. Each tear hurt him more than could be uttered, gnawed at his soul to see her in such a state. Yet, he found solace in knowing that he was there with her, and she, would wait for him. It was beautiful by all degrees, a marvelous work that was of pure and unconditional love.

"Enjoying the read?" A sincere voice asked Kaito.

He slowly returned to the real world and nodded, "Mmm, yes thank you, It's beauti-" he froze mid-sentence and slowly turned his head towards the doorway. The chibi-tantei was there, his watch already prepped to fire and aimed directly at Kaito. "**Wait,** I can expla-" it was too late, the watch had fired and the needle impacted Kaito's neck. It didn't hurt, but perhaps the tranquilization agent was so powerful that it numbed even the nervous system. The last thing he remembered was seeing his rival's face looking over him before he faded away to the irresistible urge of the anesthesia.

* * *

A/N: Review?


	2. I have an itch, and I can't scratch it!

A/N: Well it appears that some of you love it, once again all soccer-balls are eco-friendly and fully recyclable! So without any further disclaimers, enjoy.

* * *

Kaito's nose itched, it wasn't an overwhelming urge but every second he writhed in agony from the sensation plaguing his left nostril. To his knowledge, he was asleep on what appeared to something far more comfortable than his bed. Did he fall asleep on his living room couch again? What was all this about that bumbling Detective Mouri and breaking an entry into his private apartment? Was it all just, a dream? He moved to raise his hand to brush his nose, but no hand came. He tried his left hand, nothing. But, he could feel his both his hand, they felt slightly numb and swollen and were tucked behind him. His fingers slowly walked towards his wrists, there was a rather taught cord of rope tied over them in addition to a pair of handcuffs, at-least he thought the metal he was touching was handcuffs. He stealthily maneuvered around to painfully pinch himself to full alertness. The effect was instantaneous, he felt a sudden jolt as blood all around his body suddenly heaved forward.

He could hear voices now, he made out three different tones. That was good for him, it meant that he was at-least near someone, three people perhaps. He listened for awhile, gathering all the information he could devise some clever plot to escape.

"... he knows Hakase."

"That's your fault for making your access code so easy to guess."

"Now, now Ai-kun, only somebody who personally knew him would have guessed that."

"He doesn't seem much older than myself really, in fact I think I've seen him before..."

"Do you know him?"

"I saw him around Shibuya a few times, I'm confident at that much at-least. That would be the guy Ran mistook for me six months ago."

"What are we going to do with him then?"

"We could call the third division, they deal with robbery and theft."

"Oi, oi... He was reading _that_ book, there is no way we can just hand him over to the Police... Hakase do you have truth serum?"

"T-truth serum? Shnichi, I'm a professor, I don't keep such things around my house..."

Kaito heard enough, pulling the stunt he did was dangerous by all means. If he just left his fate up to these people, the ending likely wouldn't be pretty. He opened his eyes and peeped around the room, the tri-fecta was standing at the far side of the room huddled closely together in some type of planning session. He sat up and yawned nosily, drawing the attention of his most gracious hosts. They turned around immediately to the noise, he could see their faces now and it relaxed him. He was sure not only from the tone of the voice but what was said, that one of them was the toddler that tranquilized him. He now saw that he was in the living room of Professor Hiroshi Agasa's residence, and that the more deeper and older voice belonged to him. That left the cold wirly voice to the Amber-haired girl next to the professor, her name was Haibara Ai wasn't it?

"You people talk too loud, you know..." he scoffed, "People are trying to sleep."

Conan sweat dropped, '_This guy... I kidnap him by all accounts, and he says that? Purely confident when others would freak out, breaking through the door-locks with little evidence to point that he was there. Didn't this guy fall into the Ocean when KID attempted to steal the Black Star? Moreso, he looks enough like me to pose as me with a little help from cosmetics... Masaka...'_

The detective walked calmly towards the other couch and sat down opposite of Kaito. "No heist note this time? I thought you enjoyed the attention."

As expected from his nemesis, Kaito knew he was already cornered, and despite numerous lies told to others in the past. He was generally an honest person when it came down to it. "It wasn't necessary," he yawned "Considering Kudou-kun, that what I came to see was not priceless." A wicked grin formed on Kaito's face, "Although such a story could fetch a pretty penny if leaked to the newspapers, don't you think?" Kaito sneered, raising both his hands infront of his face to display the fact that he was no longer bound by neither the rope-gag or handcuffs.

Conan remained impassive and indifferent to the taunting, "I could always put you back to sleep, strip you down to your underwear so that you have no other toys, gadgets, or other gizmos to use to break out and lock you in Agasa's cellar. But, I don't think we have to escalate this to that level do we?"

Kaito frowned, "We don't... As for the reason I was prying into your personal life, we share a common problem, namely a clandestine organization that is ruthless to all extents, has no qualms about brutally murdering us, even in public, and are all ex-members of Alcoholics Anonymous."

The young detective stared at Kaito. The gaze was somewhat unnerving, it wasn't just looking at him but through him. Had he said too much? Was this feeling a premonition that his arch-rival was delving into his very soul using his matchless skills of deduction. After an eternity, the boy opened his mouth, "And?"

"What do you mean and!? You almost got torn to shreds by 30 mm auto-cannon rounds a week ago at Touto Tower!" Kaito stopped and regained his composure, "You nearly died to the same men that have effected me almost as much as they have you. I couldn't allow that, I can't just sit by and watch you be snuffed out without knowing that I at-least made an effort to protect you."

The boy chuckled, "You know... In all my many years as a detective there was one thing I could never solve. It was why a person would murder another. No, I understood it, I just couldn't relate or agree to it... The same outstanding moral fiber exists in us both doesn't it? Besides the point, what were you even hoping to accomplish?"

Kaito blinked at the question, "I'm not really sure, I was hoping to find something from you that might answer a few questions of mine, vice-versa as well. Digressing from such, shouldn't you be in school tantei-kun?"

"Waiver day." Conan shrugged, "I walked all the way to school and ended up walking back... But from I see, that isn't a mask and your still in high school. Isn't education important at all to you? Even in my state I still attend school."

"Oi, don't patronize me. Thats the problem with you detectives..." Kaito chuckled, "Your just a bunch of nosy critics trying to find faults!"

"In the future, don't pull something like this again. I will personally deliver you to Nakamori-keibu in the second division if you ever come near my residence un-invited again."

"How harsh and cold... what of the organization?"

"What of it? I can see a piece of art and know that its a fake by the most miniscule detail. I've technically caught you time after time, again and again. Yet I haven't cornered the organization to any manageable extent, and you think that by involving yourself you can make things better?"

"Yes, yes I do. Despite eyeglasses that can track someone kilometers away, voice changing bow-ties, dart gun watches or muscle enhancing shoes... Your limping closer to your goal and inch at a time, uphill. Whether it was luck or your own sheer genius that saved you at Touto Tower, you can't replicate it again and again. Regular police officers do not catch criminals out in the street, but they catch them in their paperwork. Somewhere down the line they slip up, and when they do the full consequences of their action is levied in full against them. The same applies to you Kudou-kun, you may be brilliant, you may be an adult by all accounts, but your not a god, your only human. I've made mistakes, and so have you. Its only a matter of time before our errors finally catch up to us both. Admit it, logically by all accounts, you need me."

"Calm down, I was merely pushing your buttons to see what would light up. This wasn't some clever cover story to expedite an escape. Now then, you've already read most of what I know, but _what do you know?_" The child leaned forward, the light reflected off the lenses of his glasses giving him an ethereal appearance.


	3. Hurry up and wait

A/N: I somewhat rushed Chapter two for some reason, that was entirely my fault and I will be re-uploading to correct numerous mistakes not only grammar wise but plot wise as well... How foolish can I get?

* * *

The following is a flashback.

_Kaitou Kid grinned, it was one of the many things that he was a certified master at. This grin however, was special. It was his trademark smile that was symbolic of only one thing; victory. It was an average day for him, send a heist note, watch as INTERPOL and local law enforcement agencies scrambled together in an effort to stop him, devise of some clever way to evade their so called impregnable defenses, get the loot, and get out. While also keeping watch for a mysterious organization that he had attracted the gaze of. Keeping in line with the rigid schedule he was on, the police would be bursting out from the roof access door behind him in approximately three... two... one..._

_ He heard a piece of metal slam as gruff voices barked orders in German behind him. He could understand it to an extent, he heard his name yelled and the clatter of boots running at high speeds towards him; all according to plan._

_ His head turned to look behind him, his classical poker face of arrogant confidence flooded each one of his features. The face seemed worn and stressed from the weathering of time, yet it had what seemed to be a sincere smile from ear to ear. But the same arrogant confidence now sent a clear message, he was not going to be caught tonight, your efforts were in vain but you put up a good show anyways and have been truly a great audience for me. Kaitou Kid jumped off the ledge he so precariously stood near, his entire uniform was in chaos as he descended, one story, two stories, three stories... But in the midst of this chaos was order, his own order. Everything was going according to his designs, his specifications. The plan so far had been executed flawlessly, he always left room to adapt and change it at a moments notice as prudence dictated, but his impeccable skills of judgment had left him entirely correct as to the actions of everyone present. But then something happened that he did not expect, on the adjacent rooftop he saw a glare. It was a brief flash of light caused by the local metropolis's own light reflecting off a lens of some type. But then, there was an even larger flash of light that consumed it entirely followed shortly after by a deafening sound._

_ The sound was both something that he hoped he would never hear, yet if he did he was glad that he was hearing it. A bullet grazed the side of his hat, the string connecting it to his face instantly snapped at the tension and he watched helplessly in free fall as the __Bundespolizei reacted flawlessly to the surprise shooter. He could hear now the roar of assault rifles going off, he could see the bullets impacting on the roof. He had a rule that nobody ever got hurt during a heist, but his assailant had broke the rules, he had fired and endangered his life. It was self-defense, though technically his defense came from his enemies, the German Federal Police. But his hat was off, his face exposed, had he been seen by his would-be assassin? He decided not to expose himself any longer, he activated his hand glider and sailed away like he had done on dozens of previous occasions._

_ A week later, Kuroba Touichi died of an accident while hosting one of his extremely famous and usually successful demonstrations._

_

* * *

_

Nearly an hour later, Kaito had finished telling his abridged story to his own audience. He did not mention his father, only that the Organization had made an attempt on Kaitou Kid's life. To him, it was not Kuroba Touichi and Kuroba Kaito. He was Kaitou Kid one and the same, the Dread Pirate Roberts. The trio across from him had asked him numerous questions, compared details and clarified information about what was spoken until finally nothing else seemingly remained.

"So..." Kaito began, "What now?"

"Our information is mostly the same classification, we know their appearance and codenames. There are certain unique features to each of them but if we put out a city wide search for said features, they will be bound to know." Conan sighed, "Our best bet would to somehow search for Gin's car, a Porsche 356A does not move unnoticed. I've considered using Shinichi's voice to ask Megure-keibu to run the license plate, but he would likely end up dead later."

"Doves," Kaito suggested airily, "We can use my doves to search for the car."

"Your going to use your birds to look for a car?" Conan deadpanned.

"Of course," Kaito blinked, his mannerism suggesting that the worlds most stupidest question had been asked. "They can recognize numbers, letters and understand orders. I have about three dozen of them, I used them to find Nakamori-keibu once when he did not turn up at home for several days. The plate number, if you please."

"You'll likely laugh at the irony of it; 48-69."

"Wasn't that the password for your-" Kaito began but Conan shot him a glare that would instantly kill most small mammals. In fact, Kaito had the strangest feeling that the insects in the bush outside the window behind him had suddenly given up the ghost. "Never mind... I'll get to it then."

Kaito stood up and stretched, his hair had grown even more unkempt but he made no attempt to fix it. He turned towards Ai who was standing at the corner of the couch near Agasa and put on a gentleman's grin, he bowed courteously and bid both the the shrunken and aging scientist a fond farewell. He walked calmly towards what he thought was the front door and left.

"Shinichi..." Agasa said worriedly, "Is it alright to let him leave just like that?"

"He won't tell anyone for fear of putting me in danger, and he knows that if I alerted Nakamori-keibu to his particulars, it would put him in danger too. I won't corner somebody with logic and then leave them to die, me and him are so much alike yet so different... Plus, he just left through the wrong door and will be any moment now."

Sure enough, Kuroba Kaito walked back in from the door he exited from and promptly apologized. He was directed to the actual front door and offered a ride home from the Professor, he declined however for obvious reasons.

"Now we wait?" Haibara

"Now we wait." Conan agreed.

* * *

Conan returned to the Detective Agency, he immediately went to his room and located his journal of sorts and began to look for a more inconspicuous to hide it. The rest of the day was left to him watching television, he had turned it to the afternoon news which usually had an interesting riddle or two. He used to call in the riddle everyday when he was not in his current predicament, however at his current age, he was not technically eligible to enter the contest. He wondered if secretly the news had missed his charming and refreshing personality, calling them several minutes after the problem was posted, providing the correct answer. Or perhaps the writer of the mysteries had breathed a sigh of relief that he or she was now able to enjoy winning for once with no correct answers given. Sure enough, the riddle was given, it was really elementary to him and though the answer was not given, he had the utmost confidence that he was correct.

About an hour later, Ran returned home from school. Conan switched the television from the news to a random cartoon. "Oh, Conan-kun! Your home early!" she exclaimed.

He put on the face of Conan, the child, and turned smiling at the girl at the door. He made one of his non-verbal agreement sounds and in the sweetest voice he could muster, he pouted. "There was a waiver day today Neechan! You made me walk to school for nothing!"

"You should give me your school's Calender then Conan-kun... I'm sorry for slightly spoiling your day off, did you enjoy your afternoon?"

Conan made another non-verbal grunts in reply. Ran set down her bag at the door and walked into her room.

Ran came back into the living room, her features shadowed over in what appeared to be wrath,"Conan-kun." Ran growled, "Did you look through my stuff!?"

Conan's eye twitched, '_That guy... Didn't even bother to put stuff back... Worst thief, ever.'_

He looked up towards his childhood friend with a peering and searching expression, "Did we get robbed Neechan?"


End file.
